After an 8-day break, NOAH is back. This time in Kawasaki. With 3 title matches on this card, the show looks to be a good one. Let us take a look and see what could happen.
The show airs on the 4th of September on G+
Match 1
Mohammed Yone
Vs
Yuko Miyamoto
Good little singles match to kick us off. Between one member of the M’s Alliance Yuko Miyamoto vs Mohammed Yone who seems to be just drifting around in NOAH this year.
Miyamoto will be competing in his first singles match in NOAH this year. He is an accomplished tag wrestler and deathmatch wrestler. He can also compete in normal matches as well making him one of the best all-rounders out there.
As stated previously not only in this piece but others as well. Yone just seems to be drifting. It seems like he has landed in the veteran role. Usually competing in tag matches or singles matches against rookies or new people to the company.
This should be a good singles match to kick us off. I expect that Miyamoto will pick up the win here.
Match 2
Daisuke Harada, YO-HEY, Kinya Okada
Vs
Kongoh (Tadasuke, Nioh, Haoh)
Tadasuke teams with his new stablemates for the first time. On the Yokohama show, Tadasuke betrayed YO-HEY clotheslining him mid-match. He joined kongoh at the 22nd of the august show after Haoh and Nioh ran in on his match with Harada.
With Tadasuke added to their ranks Kongoh now have 3 juniors which allows them to fight on all fronts for all the titles. Tadasuke will add an edge to Kongoh that they didn’t have before. This should make them more dangerous.
What a rough few months it has been for YO-HEY. First betrayed by long time partner HAYATA and now betrayed by Tadasuke. Ratels lie in ruin with just Harada and YO-HEY although who knows how long that will last.
This match should be your typical NOAH six-man. I think Kongoh will pick up the win to show their newfound strength.
Match 3
Kaito Kiyomiya, Daiki Inaba, Shuhei Taniguchi
Vs
Sugiura Army (Hideki Suzuki, NOSAWA Rongai, Kaz Hayashi)
Another 6-man tag here.
Kiyomiya and co have been great since joining forces. They were the first team to beat the unbeaten M’s alliance. Inaba seems to have settled well in NOAH so far. Doing very well in the matches he has had so far. Taniguchi has been doing well as well. Both Kiyomiya and Taniguchi will be looking to build momentum towards the N1 Victory.
On the other side of the ring stands the Sugiura army. Hideki Suzuki recently returned into the fold and will be looking to see who his next big singles match will be against. Maybe it will be against one of the 3 across the ring from him. The other 2 members of his team are juniors. If NOAH holds the junior tag league I am guessing Rongai and Hayashi will be the junior reps for the Sugiura army.
Again this should be a solid 6 man. The interactions between Suzuki and his opponents should be the highlights. I think that Kiyomiya, Inaba and Taniguchi will pick up the win here.
*due to showing fever symptoms of a fever Taniguchi will miss the show. He will be replaced by Seiya Morohashi
Match 4
GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship Match
Stinger (HAYATA & Yoshinari Ogawa) (C) 3rd defence
Vs
FULL THROTTLE (Atsushi Kotoge & Hajime Ohara)
The first of two FULL THROTTLE vs Stinger matches.
Since the destruction, Ratels FULL THROTTLE are the only ones to challenge Stinger.
Kotoge first made this challenge on the August 10th show but Ogawa just ignored him. The match was made official when Ohara made Ogawa tap on the 22nd of August show.
FULL THROTTLE comes into this is as the plucky underdogs. Hyper and manic (and that’s just Kotoge) they will be looking to use that to there advantage. They have the momentum going into this match was Ohara earning the win for FULL THROTTLE in the preview match.
Stinger head into this match knowing they will need to slow the match down and control the match to win. With a combination of speed and technical along with the vast experience that Ogawa brings to the team. They will be looking to target one member of FULL THROTTLE and pick them apart.
This should be a good match. With a good mix of styles in this match, anything could happen. I think FULL THROTTLE will win this match and become the first team to break Stingers control over the junior division.
Match 5
GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship Match
Kotaro Suzuki (C) 4th defence
Vs
Seiki Yoshioka
The second of the FULL THROTTLE vs Stinger matches.
Yoshioka earned this match when he picked up a victory over Suzuki on the August 10th show.
This will be the first time that Yoshioka has challenged for the GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship. he will be looking to use his speed to gain the advantage over Suzuki. At the preview match on the 22nd Yoshioka was limping badly. He had to be helped to the back. There will now be a target on that leg.
Suzuki will be looking to use his experience to slow the match down to a pace that suits him. Suzuki has a wide arsenal of moves that he can finish the match with. This has been proven by the fact that his defences have finished with different moves. Also with Yoshioka having an injured leg, Suzuki will be targeting that.
This should be a good junior title match. The difference of styles should complement each other well. I think that Suzuki will retain. I think that injured leg will play a big part in the match. Suzuki will use his experience to target that and pick up the win.
Match 6
Kongoh (Kenoh, Manabu Soya, Masa Kitamiya, Yoshiki Inamura)
Vs
M’s alliance (Naomichi Marufuji, Keiji Mutoh, Masaaki Mochizuki, M)
Another mystery m. another member will be joining the M’s alliance. Remember they must have M in there surname to join. People have been wondering who it will be. Personally, I have no clue. Marufuji and Mochizuki will be looking to build momentum for the N1 Victory. Both have vowed to meet each other in the finals.
Things are starting to look up for Kongoh. With Kenoh capturing the GHC National Championship and Tadasuke bolstering the junior ranks it seems like they are picking up steam. All 4 men on this team are going to be in the N1 so they will be looking to build momentum. A future National title match may even be set up but I don’t think it will not so close to the N1.
This match should be a solid semi-main. The main thing going into this match is who M will be. I think the alliance will pick up the win here.
Main Event
GHC Tag Team Championship match (Vacant)
AXIZ (Go Shiozaki & Katsuhiko Nakajima)
Vs
Sugiura Army (Takashi Sugiura & Kazushi Sakuraba)
Main event time and it’s for the GHC Tag Team Championships.
The titles were vacated after Rene Dupree returned to his home and couldn’t get back into Japan to defend the titles. He made this match to determine the new champions.
One corner you have AXIZ. We have the current GHC Heavyweight Champion Go Shiozaki and the former GHC National Champion Katsuhiko Nakajima. Not only accomplished singles wrestlers they are 3x tag champions and will be looking to capture there 4th here. With them, in the N1 they would love to go in as tag champions with Sakuraba in Shiozaki’s block and Sugiura in Nakajima block.
On the other side, you have the unconventional team Kazushi Sakuraba vs Takashi Sugiura. Sakuraba maybe the person Sugiura likes the most in his own faction. They have the momentum going into this match as Sakuraba made Shiozaki in the preview match. They will also have the experience advantage with both men being in there 50’s.
This really has the potential to be a great main event. A mix of styles and with 4 great wrestlers in the ring, it can go either way. I couldn’t call this match it is 50/50. If I had to call it I think the Sugiura army will walk out as champions.
Conclusion
This card looks good on paper. 2 good looking junior title matches and a great looking main event. Sprinkle in some solid multi-man tag matches and you have yourself a good card. I am looking forward to this as it is one of the last ones on the road to the N1 Victory.
The show airs on the 4th of September on G+